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Freelance

New Year’s Eve/Day means time for my annual update for all my friends and followers far and wide who are not on Facebook.

It’s been a year of many different adventures and challenges. But I’ve coped and am extremely fortunate to be enjoying good health and wonderfully supportive friends and family. I am truly blessed and very grateful.

The biggest news this year is that my brother has FINALLY got his Australian residency. What a nightmare that has been, but we got there in the end. Phew! The icing on the cake is that Moorish Cafe where he is Head Chef won two Gold Plates Awards at AHA awards. How good is that?

2017 saw lots of commuting. I stopped counting once I got to 30 trips between Darwin and Brisbane. They were pretty much all night flights.

Once upon a time (10 years ago!), I was easily able to make that night flight then go straight into a full day of work, but it’s getting harder each year not to need a nap when I get to the other end.

I’ve been spending more time in Qld as my parents are needing more support that it’s just not possible – nor is it fair – for my sister to handle alone. On the whole, they are both pretty well but Mum has slowed down a lot since her heart operation and Dad’s Alzheimers seems to be steady. But we just never know what each day is going to bring, so it’s important for us to be around for them as needed.

I’ve also been able to spend more time with my niece, Ellie, and we have a lovely little relationship going which is nice. Really nice. I’ve introduced her to outrigging which she’s very much enjoying – although she won’t get out of bed and come to the 5.30 am sessions with me – so we do afternoons when her school schedule permits. 2018 sees her entering Year 12, her final year at school.

Even though this has been a very hectic year, it has also been a year that has seen me spending more time with both the immediate and the extended Van Buerle family. Including two trips to Melbourne to see my cousin Derek who sadly passed away on the 9th May.

Sasha has her first e-book published. The Short Story Press Collection showcases the wide variety of genres that she tackles.

It’s been a long road and I know I’m biased, but I think she’s pretty talented. If you choose to check it out, she would be thrilled if you leave her a review on Amazon.

Her first novel is still doing the rounds of publishers and novel number 2 was completed in November 2017 as part of Nanowrimo. It’s about to go into the editing stage which is always the hardest part.

She edits for others on a professional basis, but to edit her own work is impossible.

Wayne continues to be troubled with his back and frustrated that he cannot be as active as he once was. This does not help with his mental health, but he is making good progress thanks to a great psychologist. Being close to his grandparents is also helping enormously in his recovery.

He occupies his time experimenting in the kitchen and has become a really good cook. In typical Wayne fashion, he is very exacting and hard on himself, but we love eating what he produces. No complaints from us. There are very few disasters, and I am most impressed by the array of dishes that he can turn his hand to!

Wayne & Sasha have settled nicely on Bribie. I have been here since mid-November without having needed to take any trips – it’s been good to stay put for a bit! I still have not unpacked all my books, and at times struggle to find where I have put things in the cupboards.

Bali was another highlight in 2017 – two trips for the Refresh, Reframe & Relax Sojourns that I co-lead with Andrea Wicking. Although it is technically “work”, it is also most enjoyable for me.

Christmas this year was a very first time experience for me. We celebrated on Bribie Island and even though Mum and Dad have lived here for 16 years, whenever I have been in Australia it’s always been celebrated in Darwin with my cousin Cheryl, husband Darryl and son Jonathon plus Mum, Dad, Yvonne and Ellie made the trip to Darwin a few times over the years. In 2017everyone made the trek to Bribie – so it was same same but different – so nice!

As a freelancer, I’ve been pretty lucky that on the whole, I usually get paid, but every once in a while I get caught. You know how it goes, you build a relationship and everything is tracking pretty well. You’ve worked for the client on quite a few jobs, so you don’t expect any issues. Suddenly WHAM! The client takes your work, the most expensive piece commissioned to date, publishes it and decides not to pay your bill. They just go silent and fail to acknowledge all contact attempts, despite the fact that I can clearly see them active in social media and LinkedIn, so I know jolly well that they are very much alive and kicking!

Integrity is everything!

What do you do? If you’re me, you try to sort things out amicably, but when there’s no response, over several weeks, there is little to be done. Of course, I could go public, but my reputation is built on confidentiality, so it’ll do me more harm than good.

I suck it up, send a polite note to the client expressing my disappointment in their integrity and wish them well with their life and career. I won’t lower my standards and my reputation remains intact. I do however believe in karma and what goes round comes round. I also continue to place my trust in humanity and refuse to lose that despite a couple of negative experiences.

Love to hear how others, who work in a highly confidential space, deal with these kinds of situations?